(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to making cotton modules and more particularly to latching the packer cylinder in the operative position.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In recent years module builders or makers have been developed for forming harvested seed cotton into modules for field storage before moving the modules to the gin. The modules are stacks of cotton which have been firmly packed or tramped so they are self-supporting and form a unitary unit even when they are picked up on a truck to be moved. The basic module maker is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,749,003 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,047. The modules are moved by equipment originally designed to move hay stacks and shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,550.
As seen, the module maker itself has a front and two side walls. The side walls are angled outward so that the module is tapered. Therefore, by raising the module maker upward, the sides come free from the module. Then, the module maker can be moved to another location for making another module. If the move entails the moving of the module maker under electric high lines or along highways, or the like, it is necessary to lower the hydraulic cylinder, which is used for packing the cotton in the module.
According to commercial embodiments made according to my previous patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,511, the cylinder was held in the elevated position by a hook and bail arrangement. The bail was actuated by a toggle mechanism. This was a manually operated device, which necessitated the operator leaving his normal operating station and going onto the carriage supporting the cylinder to manually operate the toggles.
It is particularly important that the cylinder never be unlatched from the carriage unless it is supported in the raised position by hydraulic fluid. When the tramper is in the extreme lower position, it is held by stops on the top of the guide rods so that hydraulic fluid pushing the tramper down will push upward on the top of the hydraulic cylinder and support it when the tramper is resting against an obstruction (such as cotton or the stops). If the cylinder latches are unlatched when there is pressure in the cylinder, there will be no dropping of the equipment or free fall of the equipment because the hydraulic fluid must flow from the cylinder before the cylinder can move to the lower position.